The Long Lost Seed Brother
by DarkLordFluffy
Summary: Joseph, Jacob, and John, the leaders of Eden's Gate, had one other brother. They couldn't find him for the longest time. Then when he was looking for them himself they finally found him. This is the story of James Smith, aka James Seed. He has always yearned for a family, never having much of one himself growing up. Now that he has found his brothers, will he be able to stand them?
1. Chapter 1

Once upon a time there were four brothers. Their father was very abusive of them and their mother did nothing to stop him. The oldest boy felt the need to protect his brothers and would often fight with his parents but that didn't stop the abuse. When they were young, the teachers of the second youngest boy noticed the bruises and scars and they were taken from their parents and placed in foster care. Their foster parents were also abusive and the oldest boy eventually had enough and set fire to the foster parents' farm. The brothers were separated after that.

The oldest brother, Jacob, was sent to a juvenile detention center. After he was finished with his sentence, he joined the Army. His time in the military deeply effected him. After a particularly bad incident he was discharged from the military because of PTSD. He ended up in a homeless shelter.

The second youngest brother, John, was adopted by a very wealthy very religious family. They psychologically tortured John for any sin they felt he committed, even getting fundamentalist pastors involved. He become very good at pretending to be what others wanted him to be. He eventually went to University and became top of his class. After that he became a successful lawyer. He inherited a small fortune when his adopted parents died. He portrayed himself as a successful happy person. But he disliked himself and society for what happened in his childhood.

The second oldest brother, Joseph, stayed with several foster families throughout his childhood, and was never able to connect with classmates or foster siblings. He became very lonely, the only thing that really kept him company was the Voice. A voice that talked to him all throughout his childhood. This Voice started back when he was beat up by his biological father for reading a comic book. He eventually got married but his wife and daughter were in an accident. Only his baby daughter survived but barely. Joseph pinched her life support tube to put her out of her misery. Lost and alone he became obsessed with finding his brothers. He squatted in an old meat packing plant in his hometown while he searched. While he searched he also became very interested in religion to try and explain the Voice. He moved to Atlanta to find his brother John. While he was there he was mugged and the Voice contacted him again. This time it gave him a vision of the apocalypse. He found his brother John and together they tracked down their brother Jacob. With John's money they tried to find their youngest brother but weren't able to. During this time Joseph began to preach to people in Rome, Georgia. He built up quite the following. They were forced to leave though when a person who had been involved with their church went missing and they were blamed. They moved to Hope County with their followers, still unable to find their youngest brother.

The youngest brother, James, was barely more than a toddler when they were all separated. He was adopted by a family who had been unable to have children of their own, the Brights. For the first few years of his life with the Brights, he was treated well. Then his adopted mother got pregnant. Now, with a child actually related to them, they didn't seem to see the value of an adopted child. They started neglecting him. Oh they gave him enough to eat and were never physically abusive, this is true, but they started ignoring him. They gave all their love to their actual child and none to James. When James was ten they forgot him at home when visiting a relative. When they got home, James's adopted mother's brother, Howard Smith, was there with James, seething at them. Howard yelled at them for leaving James alone and ignoring him and fought in court for custody of James. James went to live with Howard, who still insisted on him calling him 'uncle'. Uncle Howard was not a particularly warm individual and never treated James with too much warmth but he never ignored the boy. He didn't want a child. He wanted a protégé. He was a survivalist and doomsday prepper and he taught James how to survive out in the wilderness. He taught him to hunt with both a bow and a gun. He taught him what plants were good and bad and what ones could be used as medicine in a pinch. James learned how to survive. Eventually he got curious about his biological family though. He asked his uncle about them. Howard always believed in not hiding things from the boy so he let the boy know about his family. Howard knew about the fact that James's biological parents were abusive and knew that he had brothers but he didn't know the names of the brothers or anything about them so he didn't have much to tell him. James vowed to find his brothers someday though.

When James was in college, his Uncle Howard died. He apparently had more money than most people thought. He wasn't insanely rich but he was well off, and he gave it all to James. This angered Howard's family quite a bit.

"You're not even related to him! You're just some useless orphan!" said his former adopted mother, and Howard's sister, while they were at the reading of the will.

"Well apparently Uncle Howard never thought that. He was a decent person, which is more than can be said for you!" James said, angry that she would be so moneygrubbing. All she cared about when Howard died was the money. She didn't once cry about her own brother. James promised himself that when and if he ever found his brothers he'd never be that cold if they died.

"Uncle Howie was always so weird. He probably did inappropriate things with you. Why else would he care enough about you to give you all of his money?" said his former adopted sister, the one that his adopted parents cared about more than him because she was their biological daughter.

"How dare you!" James yelled. "He was a good man. Don't you ever accuse him of something so digusting!" He turned to the lawyer reading the will. "Can we work out the particulars later? I find the present company to be quite unpleasant."

A few months later James was traveling the world, feeling that it was a good use of Uncle Howard's money. He nearly ran into violent pirates while he was in Indonesia and when he was in India he ran into a guy who was headed to Kyrat to spread his mother's ashes, which James had heard was a very bad place to go. He wished the man well. A few months later he had heard that the same guy was now the new ruler of Kyrat so apparently things...went well? While James was still abroad he started having really bad nightmares. They involved the end of the world. They got so bad that he cut his trip short and returned to the States.

After he got back James felt aimless. He finished up his Art degree but after, he couldn't figure out what to do with himself. And his nightmares were getting worse. One night he had a nightmare that involved three men, who instinctively he recognized as his brothers, and a girl who they referred to as their sister all dying violent deaths except one. The surviving man left to grieve over his family. After that he vowed to find his brothers to prove to himself that the dream wasn't true. As much as he hated his former adopted mother and father, he went to them for help. They reluctantly gave him the surname of his biological family. Seed. That helped. He searched for records of a family with that name. He found his biological parents. They were dead. He didn't have any luck finding his brothers though.

Joseph Seed never gave up hope that they could find their little brother. And finally they found evidence of him when James was investigating his biological parents. John, ever the well connected lawyer even now that he found religion, heard about someone who was investigating his parents. Someone named James Smith. John reached out and contacted him.

James got back to his apartment one night after work and suddenly his phone starts ringing.

He answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Is this James Smith?"

"It is. Can I ask who is calling?" James asked.

"My name is John Seed. I heard you were asking about the Seed family. I believe you may be my long lost brother."

James just stood there in shock. Was this what he was looking for? His family?

"Hello? Are you still there?" said the voice on the phone.

"Yeah, sorry...You have no idea how long I've been looking for you. I think I have three brothers right? Have you found the rest of them yet?"

The voice on the phone sounded very excited. "There is three of us, yes. Joseph, Jacob, and me. We've been looking for you for a very long time too, James."

James tried very hard not to burst into tears. This was his family. He had an actual family!

"We have a place in Hope County, Montana. If I send you all the details to you through an email can you make it out here? We would very much like to have you with us here. To have our family complete finally."

"I can probably make it out there. I'll give you my address so you can send me the details." James said, already making plans in his head on how to get over there from where he was in Maine.

"Great! Do you need help with getting down here? I can send you money for a plane ticket. Its no trouble."

"Don't worry. I have money. I'll probably stick to roads though. I don't like flying. Boats are more my thing really." James said giving him his email address.

"Really? Flying is great! Well to each his own I guess. I'll send the details in an email. We can't wait to see you James. Take care." The phone hung up.

James did a little dance around the room. He couldn't believe it! He had really found his brothers! And his nightmare about them dying wasn't real! He kept checking and rechecking his emails to see if John had sent him anything yet. Finally, he saw an email. It had an address and directions how to get there. John also wrote that he should probably keep where he was going to himself once he got to Hope County, for his safety. James didn't know what to think about that. Were his brothers involved in something dangerous? After a bit of thought, he decided that it didn't matter to him. They were his brothers. That's all that mattered.

While he did have a car, it wasn't that great for such a long trip so, with a thought that it was likely he wouldn't return to Maine after this, he sold his car and ended the lease on his apartment. Since he was raised not to be materialistic, he didn't own many things, so he could pack all he had in his huge backpack. He packed some clothes, his sketchbook and pencils, his multitool that his Uncle gave him, and a few little mementos. He also had his gun, that his Uncle also gave him, and a hunting knife. What little else he owned, that couldn't fit, he let his landlord have.

With his backpack on his back, his knife hidden in a strap on his leg and his gun in a holster on his belt, he started out. He decided hitchhiking to Montana would be fun and would be less traumatizing than a plane ride. Whenever possible on his trip around the world he either went by bus, train, or boat. He liked keeping his feet on the ground thank you very much.

The hitchhiking was pretty uneventful. Several people stopped for him and let him ride along. Most of them were pretty normal. When he neared Hope County, he noticed more cars leaving Hope County than entering. And hardly anyone stopped to give him a ride. Once he entered Hope County it was close to nightfall and he was getting rather tired. Luckily, a car slowed down and stopped for him.

"Need a ride?" A black man wearing the white collar of a priest said out the window of the car.

"Thanks!" James said as he gets into the car.

"Pastor Jerome. Nice to meet you. Where you headed?" said the priest as he pulls back onto the road.

"Falls End?" James said.

"Well that's good since I'm headed there anyway. Its a bit dangerous of you hitchhiking like this around here. The wildlife isnt that friendly and lately a lot of the people haven't been either. Anyway, what brings you to Hope County?" Jerome said as he drove.

"My brothers really. I finally made contact with them after years. We were seperated as children. They live around here." James said.

"I hope you make it to them safely. Do they live in Falls End?"

"No, but they said they would have someone pick me up when I get there."

"Good."

They drove for awhile and when they reached Falls End it was getting pretty dark.

"It's getting pretty late. The Spread Eagle isnt really a motel, its a bar, but Mary May might let you have her guest room for a night. You can call your brothers tomorrow morning." Jerome said as he pulled into town. He parked at the bar.

"Sounds like a good idea. I don't want to bother them this late anyway." James said as he followed Pastor Jerome into the bar.

"Hey Mary!" Jerome said gets the attention of the bartender. "This is James. He's here to visit his brothers but doesn't want to bother them this late. Mind giving him your guest room for the night?"

"Well since you seem to think he's ok I guess it wouldn't be too much trouble. Need a drink, pastor?" Mary May said behind the counter.

"I'd love one but I'll pass tonight." Jerome said as he heads to the door. "Good luck with your brothers, James."

"Thanks." James said as the priest left.

A girl wearing a sheriff's uniform was sitting at the bar. She turned from her drink and noticed James.

"James? Is that you?" she said.

"Rook?" James said surprised.

She got up and gave James a big hug then leads him to a barstool. "Its great to see you! Mary give this man a drink! He's an old college friend."

"Sure thing sugar. What will you have?"

"Whatever you have on tap is fine." James said sitting down. "What are the chances of us both ending up here? What are you doing here anyway, Rook?"

"I could ask you the same thing. I just needed a change of pace, needed to get out of Maine. Got a job at the sheriff's office here in Hope County. I'm still a rookie but things are good. The changes really helped."

"So Sara Rook is a rookie cop?" James laughed. "That's great Rook. I'm happy for you."

"So you haven't told me why you are here yet. Hmm?" Rook said.

"I found my family Rook. I got a call from my brother about a week ago. Apparently they've been looking for me just as long as I've been looking for them. They live here in Hope County."

Rook beamed. "That's great! You've been looking for awhile. I'm glad you found each other."

Just then a man walked in and sat down at the bar in a huff. "Damn peggies!"

"The usual?" Mary asked.

The man nodded. Rook shook her head and got up. "I've got to go. Early day tomorrow. It was great seeing you James. Say hi to your brothers for me."

"I hope we see each other again sometime soon. It was good seeing you Rook." James said.  
The man sitting down the bar ranted to Mary May about stuff. James could hear him mention the word 'peggies' and wondered about that.

"Peggies? What's that?" James asked, sipping his beer.

"What you new here? Peggies! Project at Eden's Gate. Peggies! They're damn cultists that's what they are!" the man said. "They keep trying to buy my land. Trying to strong arm me out of here. I wont sell to those damn religious nutters! That John Seed can kiss my ass!"

James widened his eyes at the name. "John Seed...who's..who's that?"

"He's the cult's lawyer. And the cult leader, Joseph Seed's, brother. He's been buying up all the land here in Hope County, and trying to brainwash people into joining their cult." Mary said.

Oh. Crap. James thought to himself. He probably should've done a little bit of researching into his brothers before rushing out to meet them. His brothers were leaders of a fricking cult. Now what the hell was he going to do?

"You okay sugar? You look real pale." Mary asked.

James looked up at her and smiled a smile that was almost more like a grimace. "I'm fine. I'm a bit tired. Mind if I head to your guest room now?"

"Of course I don't mind. Are you sure you are alright?" she said as she led him upstairs to her living area.

"I'm alright. Thanks for letting me stay here."

"It's really no trouble. Here's the guest room. Bathroom is the door on the right." she led him to the room and then went back downstairs to tend the bar.

James flopped onto the bed and put his face in his hands. What was he going to do? He sighed. He'd figure it out in the morning.

That night he had the nightmare about his brothers again. This time it was worse. He saw how each one died. And his friend Rook seemed to be a part of it for some reason. When he woke up in the morning it felt like he hadn't slept at all. Mary had breakfast waiting for him after he left the guest room.

"Morning. You sounded like you had a rough night. Nightmares?" Mary said.

"Yeah a bit." James saw she had breakfast for him. "Oh. You didn't need to make me breakfast."

"I was making myself breakfast anyway so I thought I might as well. Its no trouble. So Jerome said you have brothers that live around here? They going to pick you up?"

James sat down. "Yeah. I think they are. I just need to call them." He wasn't sure if he wanted to now though. He chatted politely with Mary May while they ate their breakfast. She finished first and headed out about her day. He spent the rest of his breakfast picking at his food and sketching his nightmare.

After he washed his breakfast dish, he left the bar and stood outside. He stared at his phone debating what to do. Finally, he called John's number.

"Hello, this is John."

"Hey John. It's James. I'm in Falls End. You said you'd get someone to pick me up?"

"James! I'm so glad you made it. I'll have someone pick you up. It'll be about ten or so minutes."

James waited by the bar leaning against the wall until he saw a white pickup truck pull up. The truck had a black cross symbol painted on the side. What am I getting myself into? James thought to himself.

A slightly scruffy looking man peeked his head out of the truck window. "You James?"

James walked towards the truck. "I am. Did John send you?"

"He did."

As James climbed into the truck, Mary walked by. She looked at him in shock as he got into the 'peggie' truck. She shook her head and walked back inside her bar.

The driver of the truck kept looking over at James when he thought he couldn't see. "Is it true?" he said.

"Is what true?" James asked.

"That you are the Father's long lost brother?" the man asked.

"The Father?"

"Joseph. The Father of Eden's Gate."

"I guess yeah. I have a brother named Joseph Seed so if that's him than yeah." James said a little uncomfortable.

The driver returned to silently looking over at him ever so often as he drove.

They made it to a small bridge that led to an island in the middle of a lake. There were people standing guard at the bridge. People with guns. They were waved past and they continued down the road till they got to a small road that led to a small cluster of buildings. One of which seemed to be a church. There were a lot of people with guns milling around. If James wasn't armed himself he'd feel a lot more nervous than he already was. The driver stopped the truck and James got out. A man in an expensive looking long coat with little airplane designs on it was waiting for him.

"James?" The man asked.

"Yeah." James walked up to the man.

The man smiled and gave him a hug. "Its good to finally see you little brother."

"You must be John, right? I recognize your voice from the phone." James said as the man let him go.

"That's me." John smiled. "Come. Its nearly time for Joseph's sermon. He'd like for you to be there." He turned and started walking towards the church, pausing to see if James was following him. James followed behind John as they walked through the buildings to the church. Each of the buildings was labeled something different. One was labeled 'Luxeria'. If James had to guess, the different sins were represented in each label. Why the buildings were named after sins, he had no idea and didn't feel like asking. There was a bigger building off to the side that looked nicer than the 'named' buildings. James guessed that the building was where Joseph stayed. They made it to the church and John pushed the doors open. James reluctantly walked inside with John following behind him. There was a shirtless man with a large crown tattoo on his chest at the front of the church. The man looked up when James entered and smiled.

"James. You've returned to us...I was worried you would not make it here in time."

The last time James had seen his brother Joseph was when he was very little but he still knew this to be his brother Joseph. He remembered that Joseph took care of him when they were still together because often their mother couldn't be bothered. People started to trickle into the church behind James.

"Come sit here in the front. We'll talk after." Joseph urged him to sit down in the front pew.

James sat down. He noticed John had moved to the front of the church and was standing next to a red headed man in an army jacket.

There was a whimsical looking girl in a white dress standing at the front too. Startled, James recognized her as the girl from his nightmare who died with his brothers. How could she be real? How could they all look like they did in the dream for that matter? He had never seen them as adults till now. Does this mean that the dream was warning him of something? Soon everyone was seated, and Joseph started his sermon. As he talked about the end of the world James started to get a bad feeling. James had had dreams about the end of the world too. He'd come here skeptical and more than a little worried about the fact that this was definitely a cult, but as Joseph continued talking about preparing for the end of the world he realized that his dreams might be real warnings. It sounded crazy to him but he couldn't find any other explanation. And if they were real...then maybe preparing for the end of the world didn't seem so crazy after all.

After the Joseph was done with the service and dismissed everyone, he walked up to James who was still sitting down and looking deep in thought.

"What did you think of the service?" Joseph asked.

James stood up and looked at Joseph. "I think there's something that you should see." He got out his sketchbook and flipped to the pages where he drew his end of the world dreams. Joseph looked at them silently.

"I've been having nightmares for awhile now. About the end of the world. Then I had another nightmare. A nightmare about my brothers and a girl they called their sister. In the dream you all die. All except for you Joseph. I thought these were all just nightmares...then I saw all of you and you look the same as you did in my dream, and I have never seen you as adults till now. This all makes me think that maybe...maybe it isn't just a dream. And if you are seeing the end of the world too... Well...I guess I should take it seriously."

John, the red headed man who could only be Jacob, and the girl in the white dress stood there looking worried.

Joseph flipped to the page where the dream of his brothers dying was and frowned. "You saw them dying... Are you sure?"

"Yeah." At Joseph's worried look James continued. "I don't think something like this is set in stone. Not like something like the end of the world anyway. I think we can stop it from happening if it is a warning."

Joseph looked up from the drawing and smiled at James. "I'm sure you are right James. Maybe that's why the Creator gave you, in particular, these warnings. To lead you here. To us."

"You are my family Joseph. I'll help in any way I can." James said, resolved to stand with his brothers in this.

Joseph seemed to decide to think no more about it and made introductions. He gestured to the whimsical looking girl. "This is Faith. She is our sister now. She had a hard life before she came here to us but we welcomed her with open arms. Faith, this is James, our long lost brother."

"Nice to finally meet you James!" Faith said as she gave James a tight hug. She smelled like flowers and James got a bit of a weird high feeling while she was hugging him.

"Nice to meet you as well." he said when she had let go and he could finally breathe again.

"Its good to see you, pup." the red headed man said as he walked up to James. "I'm Jacob if you don't remember me. You were pretty little when we were separated."

"I do remember you Jacob. You looked out for us." James said smiling.

"Now you all have things to do. Go. I will show James around." Joseph said. Jacob and John left, Faith trailing after them.

True to his word, Joseph showed James around the compound. He also introduced him to important members of his congregation.

It turned out that for now, James would be staying with Joseph at the compound. John had a ranch and Jacob and Faith also had their own places so he wouldn't see much of them except for times when they would come for services.

James settled into his new life. He spent his time teaching Joseph's followers about survivalism and such. Many of them were well trained in firearms by Jacob but didn't know how to survive for very long alone in the woods. After the world ended, they would need to know how to survive without modern conveniences. He also visited John's ranch, as well as Jacob's place. He avoided Faith's place because he heard that the drug, Bliss, that she was creating was pretty potent and wanted nothing to do with that for now.

James noticed just how badly Joseph's followers were treated while he went with a follower to get some supplies. Every person not affiliated with their 'cult' was very hostile towards them. One person even threw a rock at them, which was admittedly a very brave or stupid thing to do since they were heavily armed at the time. James just barely stopped the follower from shooting the man. He didn't completely blame the people. For all intensive purposes, they were a cult. And cults have a bad rep. And not long after James had arrived, they Had scared the police out of the area. James had felt bad about that since his friend from college was one of those cops.

About a month later a man with a video camera is discovered during a service and Joseph gets very angry. James has to look away as Joseph takes the mans eyes out. Turns out though that the man was streaming it so the footage hit the web. The FBI got involved.  
Before too long, while Joseph was holding a service, a helicopter touched down next to the compound. A federal marshal as well as the sheriff and three deputies stormed into the church. One deputy James recognized, as Sara Rook, his old friend. He stood with his brothers Jacob and John as they approach Joseph who was still preaching. The federal marshal told Joseph that he was under arrest. Joseph called them out as locusts in their garden. The followers were getting very agitated. Joseph stepped down and tried to calm his followers, saying that they have prepared for this. After he stepped forward John, Jacob, Faith, and James stood behind him. That's when Rook noticed James. She looked at him in shock, recognizing him. But before she can really wonder about what he was doing there, Sheriff Whitehorse was asking her of all people to put the cuffs on Joseph. She hesitated. Looking back up at James. He shook his head at her, silently asking her not to do it. The sheriff asked her again to put the cuffs on and that shook her out of her worries. She reluctantly put the cuffs on. James looked at her sadly as she turned to lead Joseph to the helicopter. He can see the cops and the federal marshal were getting stones thrown at them by the followers as they walked back to the copter.

"You know her don't you James?" John asked. "I saw the way she looked at you and the way you looked at her."

"We knew each other back in college. We were friends. Do you think Joseph is going to let her live?" James said sadly.

"Who knows. Perhaps. You should have told us though that you knew a cop." John said as he watched followers jump on the helicopter trying to bring it down.

"It wouldn't have made any difference. My loyalty is to my family, John. You know that." James said.

Suddenly one of the followers pulled themselves into the helicopter rudders as it was lifting into the air, making it veer off and crash.

James took a group of followers down to the crashed copter, hoping he'd find Joseph alive. When he got there Joseph was pulling himself out of the copter. The rest of the people in the copter looked alive as well but were hanging upside-down in the flipped copter still strapped in. Rook was banged up and dazed looking but seemed alive and was staring at James with an unreadable expression on her face. James went and hugged Joseph when he saw he was alright and Joseph got on top of the truck and spoke to the nearby followers.

"The first seal has been opened. The Collapse has begun. We will take what we need. We will preserve what we have. And we will kill all those who stand in our way." He pointed at the people in the copter. "These, the harbingers of doom will see the truth. Begin the Reaping!"

The followers pulled most of the cops from the copter but before they could get to Rook and the marshal, a wall of fire erupted in front of them.

"Let them burn. It is gods will." Joseph said.

James stared at the burning copter in dismay. Rook was still in there! He looked away sadly. Then his attention is brought back to the copter when a follower yells. "Woah Woah hey! They're getting away!"

James saw Rook running from the copter like her life depended on it, and frankly it kinda did. The followers were rather trigger happy and started shooting at her.

"Joseph! Let me go after her. She can be redeemed! Please Joseph!" James cried out to Joseph.

"Find her then. And quickly. If our flock find her first they might not be as merciful as you James."

He took a truck and started to search. Logically she'd try to find someplace to hide. There were only a few places she could go on the island and only a few weren't filled with Joseph's followers. He tried the shortwave radio and called out to her.

"Rook come in! Are you there Rook? Please come in!"

He waited a minute. Then he heard a reply.

"James? Is that you? What the hell are you doing with the peggies?! I saw you!"

He sighed. "Its complicated Rook. Where are you? I'm trying to find you."

"No way am I telling you James! This is a trap!"

"If you tell me where you are now you'll get out of this alive. If not I can't stop them from shooting at you if they find you Rook!" James said into the radio. He knew that John was probably in the up in the air by now in his plane searching for her and the marshal. Things would not go well if he found them. James couldn't care less about the marshal, but Rook he cared about. "Joseph will let you live if you let me find you."

"Don't trust him!" the marshal's voice came on the line. "They're all crazy! Run as far as you can!"

Later when they find the marshal but Rook was still missing, James went into a rage and beat the marshal quite badly. Jacob pulled James off of the man. As they dragged the marshal away to be taken to Faith, Joseph walked up to James.

"You care for this girl don't you? This Rook?"

"I knew her in college. We were friends. I don't want to see her hurt when I know she can be made to see what we are doing here is the right thing." James said.

"I want the same for these intruders. These harbingers of doom can be made to see the light. But if she threatens the safety of our Family? Will you be willing to protect your Family?" Joseph said.

"I will be willing Joseph. You know I will. I have seen your deaths in my nightmares and I wont let that happen in reality. But it will not come to that." James said.

But it was soon becoming apparent that it might indeed come to that. Rook helped the resistance take over certain locations from them. She was getting quite good at it, and she didn't seem shy about killing any 'peggie' that stood in her way.

Because James was not as visible to the public as his brothers, most of the non members that resided in Hope County don't know what he looked like. So James took an atv out and searched for her. He didn't have to worry about the followers since they mostly knew what he looked like and if they didn't he could explain himself to them when he ran into them. Most of the people he encountered on the road were either going about their cult business or trying to head out of Hope County as fast as they could. He followed the rumors and that led him to John's ranch, where the resistance was holed up. He approached them calmly. He didn't have anything that would peg him as a "peggie" so they let him in. He walked into John's small hanger and there Rook was working on getting a rather interesting plane to run.

"Hey there. Nice plane."

She whirled around when she heard him. "James!"

"Rook."

She gets her gun and points it at him. "What are you doing here?"

"Can we talk privately, where no one might walk in on us?" James asked.

"Why should I trust you? You could shoot me while we are alone."

"And then walk calmly away from here in a building full of resistance fighters who seem to love you? Come on be sensible." James snorted. "Plus that's not really my style...Please?"

She just stared at him for a bit then sighed. "Fine. Come on." She led him inside and to where John's bedroom used to be.

"So what is so important that you risked death by resistance fighter to see me?" Rook asked.

"I want you to know why I did all this."

"Why then?" she stared at him.

"Because they're my brothers, Rook. I had to." James said.

"You mean your actual blood related brothers? Jacob, John, and Joseph?" She stared at him wide eyed.

"Yeah... my brothers. I've been trying to get them to not be as violent with what we are doing but sometimes that's hard. We don't have a lot of time left and so they get so stressed."

"Don't have a lot of time left? Time left till what?" Rook asked.

"You are going to think I'm crazy...Damn. You probably already do think that." James sighed. "The end of the world Rook."

"The end. Of the world." she raised her eyebrows at him. "Yeah you're right I do think you're crazy."

"It's not just Joseph that's been having visions about it Rook. I've been having nightmares about it for a long time, since well before I joined my brothers. I also had a nightmare that they would die. My brothers I mean. But I saw them as they are now and this was before I even met up with them again. How could I have known what they'd look like before I saw them if it wasn't a warning? Rook, what if my dreams about the bombs dropping were warnings too? I couldn't dismiss that. And I couldn't just stand by and let the nightmares come true. I may not be able to stop the bombs from falling but I can keep my brothers from getting killed. I have to. They're my family."

"Wow...and you expected me to believe all that?" Rook said.

"No but I expect you to come with me so more bloodshed can be avoided." James said.

"Did you actually think that line would work?"

"You just played judge, jury, and executioner on all those people staying here without thinking twice. And I'm the crazy one? John legally owned this ranch and you came in and killed everyone here and are now squatting here. Aren't cops all about following the law? What has happened to you Rook? How did it become so easy for you to kill people? People, who I might add are trying to prepare their families for the end. Families who now have one or two less parents now thanks to you." James stared at her sadly.

"Don't try making me the bad guy here! Your so called Family has stolen and killed so much in the last few days. I'm just trying to stop them."

"Has it ever occurred to you that most of the incidents were the resistance fighting against Joseph's followers just trying to gather what they need for the end? And that most of the places you have 'reclaimed' were John's legal property? Just because we are a so called 'cult' you have to demonize us. Most of the bloodshed was caused by you or the resistance. And you enjoyed it. It was a just huge game to you. But this is not a game Rook. This is real life. And actions have consequences."

Suddenly there was a lot of shouting and a few gunshots. Rook rushed outside to see what was going on. James calmly follows behind her. She noticed that the resistance fighters were all subdued by followers that had just arrived. Suddenly she was hit with a bliss bullet from behind. She quickly turned around and saw James with a gun in his hand and as she quickly lost consciousness she yelled "Sonofabitch!"


	2. Chapter 2

Rook's PoV

Rook slowly came to. She found herself standing in a river, being held by a cultist. They pushed her down into the water and then pulled her back up again. Then he pushed her forward. She saw John Seed in front of her. He was preaching.

"Not this one. This one's not clean." he said before pushing Rook into the water and holding her down. Then he pulled her back up and mockingly stared at her and then was about to push her back under the water before...

"Do you mock the Cleansing, John?" said Joseph, who standing nearby. James was standing with him looking concerned.

"No Joseph." John said looking nervous.

"Shhh. You have to love them, John. Do not let your sin prevent that." said Joseph. "Bring that one to me." he pointed at Rook.

Rook was brought forward to face Joseph. He put his hands on her shoulders. "Despite all that you have done, you are not beyond salvation. You're not here by accident or by chance. You are here by the grace of God. You've been given a gift. Now it remains to be seen whether you choose to embrace it...or cast it aside." he went to John and spoke with him placing their heads together in a fond way. "This one shall reach Atonement. Or the Gates of Eden will be shut to you, John."

"Yes Joseph." John said softly. Joseph walked away from him. James looked like he wanted to talk to Rook but was led away by Joseph.  
Rook could overhear James talking to Joseph. "The Resistance are getting bolder. We need to guard the vans on their way to the bunker. Otherwise, they may take her back."

"Then do it, James. See that she and the others reach the bunker to Atone." Joseph said.

Rook's attention was brought back to John who said something that sounded rather ominous to her. "You will confess. Every sin you've ever committed, no matter how petty, no matter how small...I will pull from you. Then we'll see if you're worthy of Atonement." Then she was pushed into a van with a few other Resistance captives. She could see James gathering a few cultists together and pointing them to trucks. Then the door of the van was closed. There was a cultist in the back of the van with them watching the captives. Soon the van was on the road, headed who knows where. To 'the bunker' she supposed.

James PoV

James breathed a sigh of relief when he was able to subdue Rook and bring her to his brothers. But now he was a bit concerned with how vicious John could be with some of the people he go to 'Atone'. He did still care about Rook and didn't want his brother to hurt her. But maybe it was necesary to make her see the truth.

He wanted to talk to Rook, to tell her this was necesary, but Joseph stopped him and she was led into the van. Instead he busied himself with getting a few followers together to protect the vans. He just knew that the Resistance would try something. He several trucks with guns mounted on them to follow the vans. He followed along in his own truck with his brother John in the passenger seat.  
Sure enough, halfway there, the gunfire and explosions started. Luckily they seemed to avoid most of the explosions. They did lose one of the vans though, but it wasn't the van that held Rook thankfully. He got his gun and started shooting as he drove hitting several resistance fighters. He noticed Pastor Jerome was one of the fighters. The man looked a bit shocked when he saw James in the driver's seat of a 'peggie' truck.

They managed to shake off the Resistance after awhile due to being better armed and made it to John's bunker safely. They got out and unloaded the vans. Rook had passed out at some point due to the Bliss that was still in her system, so she was dragged into the bunker unconscious.

"Thank you for protecting us as we made our way to the bunker." John said to James as they were making their way into the bunker. "You don't need to be here for this if you don't want to, brother."

"I do want to. At least for Rook." James said following John.

"You still care about her despite all that she has done?" John said.

"Of course I do. I was close to her once."

"Well hopefully she will confess and Atone then." John said making his way to his 'work room'. The place where he made people confess. Rook was already tied to a chair in the room. And another deputy, Hudson he thought, was in a chair across from her. Rook was slowly waking up.

Rook PoV

Rook woke up and found she was tied to a chair in a dark room. Deputy Joey Hudson was in a chair across the room from her with tape over her mouth.

John walked into the room with James following behind him.

Rook started struggling in her binds. "You are such an coward James! Shooting me from behind! Let me go so I can punch you in the face!"

John snickered a little. James just rolled his eyes. "Would you have come willingly if I hadn't shot you? Hmm? I'm guessing not. It was necessary Rook. To save you."

"Save me?! Your peggies have been shooting at me all over Hope County! Strange way to save someone."

John set down some tools on a workbench. Rook was a little nervous as to what he had planned.

"They were only trying to protect themselves from you Rook. You've been violently killing them. Don't blame them for protecting themselves. But it's not too late for you. You can still redeem yourself." James said leaning against the wall.

"Indeed, brother." John said. "She can and will Atone." John looked at Rook with a smirk. "You will confess your sins. All of them."

"The hell I will!" Rook yelled.

"My parents were the first to teach me the power of Yes. One night they took me into the kitchen, threw me on the ground and I experienced pain after pain after pain. And when I didn't think I could take it anymore, I did. Something broke free inside. I wasn't scared. I was clear..." he had taken out a tattoo gun. "I looked at them and I started to laugh. All I could say was Yes. I spent my entire life trying to find more things to say Yes to. I opened up every hole in my body and when those were filled, I created more..." he started cleaning the area he was going to put a tattoo on Rook. "But it was Joseph who showed me how selfish I was being. Always receiving. Always taking. The best gift isnt the one you get. Its the one you give. Giving takes courage. Courage...to own your sin. To etch it onto your flesh..." he went to James and showed her the work he had done to James. The sins he had carved on his brothers flesh. "and carry its burden. And when you have endured. When you have truely begin to atone...to cut it out and display it like a cancer for all to see... My god that's courage." John smiles. He goes to the workbench and grabbed a screwdriver. "I'm going to teach you courage. Teach you how to say Yes so you can confront your weaknesses. Confront your sins! You must swim across an ocean of pain and emerge free! For only then can you truly begin to atone." John stood there looking from Hudson and Rook. "So who wants to go first? Just say Yes."

"John..." James said. And for a moment Rook thought maybe he'd talk his brother down. Then he pointed at Rook. "Let's start with her first." John smiled at him.

Rook raged at James. "You're a psycho just like your brothers!"

"Well then. I guess we should take the deputy here back to her room. Confessions should really be done in private." John said smiling as he wheeled Hudson out of the room. "I will be right back."

James stayed behind to watch Rook. She struggled in her binds and hurled curses at him. He ignored her, still leaning against the wall, shirt still open exposing the sins written on his chest.

"I can't believe we were ever friends! You're not the James I used to know!" Rook yelled.

"Of course I'm not. My nightmares...My nightmares plague me every night. Every night I have to either see the end of the world or the deaths of my brothers. You know how that effects me Rook? I made a vow to protect my family...even from you if need be. You know what I see in my dreams about the deaths of my siblings?"

"If I listen will you let me go?" Rook said sarcastically.

"I see you, Rook. I see you killing them. John. Jacob. Faith. And lately I've seen you kill even me. The only one you don't kill is Joseph. No. He has to watch the world burn alone. I won't let any of this happen Rook. You will atone. You will prove to me that you aren't a threat." James said.

"And if I don't atone?" Rook said defiantly.

"Then I'll have to kill you. I don't want to have to kill you Rook. We were friends. I thought maybe closer than friends once." he looked at the floor. "This doesn't have to be too painful Rook. I mean, with John there will always be a little pain but if you confess... if you do what we say... then things will go rather smoothly. Joseph and my brothers will see that you are willing to atone. And you'll prove to me that you wish no harm to my siblings."

Rook sagged in her binds. "...Please James. Let me go if you care about me. Let me and Hudson go." she said quietly.

"You know I can't do that Rook. You know the reasons why."

"If I promise not to kill them? Will you let me go then?" Rook said.

"And what proof do I have that you would keep that promise?" James shook his head. "No. I can't take that chance Rook."

John took this time to come back into the room. "Oh good you're still here." he said cheerfully as he glanced at Rook.  
John went and got his tattoo gun ready.

"You'll see Rook. You'll see that staying safe with us is what's best for you in time. All you have to do is atone first." James said.

"This should be private, brother. I'm not saying you have to leave..." John said.

"Say no more. I'll wait outside. Take good care of her." James said before going out the door.

James left the room and Rook was alone with his brother, John Seed. He smiled at her as he got close to her with a tattoo gun.

"So what sin shall we etch onto your skin first?"

"Go to hell!" she yelled at him.

"Wrath it is then." He started to ink the word into her chest. She screamed and thrashed as he worked.

"Hold still. It's supposed to say 'Wrath' not 'rat'." "Sin must be exposed so it may be absolved. If we hide our sin, we hide ourselves. You will not hide any longer." He finished his work and backed up staring at his work. "Perfect."

"Are you ready to say Yes?" He asked Rook.

"No!"

"Then I think Pride should be the next sin I carve into you." He again came close to her with the tattoo gun and pulled up her sleeve. "Right here should do it." He started inking 'Pride' into her arm.

"You think James initially wanted his sins etched on his skin? He resisted the idea at first. But then he knew it would help him atone. He let me place each and every sin of his on his skin for all to see. So did Jacob. Even Joseph had sin he wanted etched on his skin. This is not a punishment...but a reminder. A reminder that we all sin and that we all can be redeemed." he finished up his work and stood back again. "Are you going to say Yes now?"

"No."

He slapped her hard. "Say Yes!"

"No. Please no."

"Say Yes and this will all be over." He slapped her again, harder this time. "Or should I torture that other deputy instead? Make her face the consquences of your wrath?"

"Fine! If I say yes will you stop?" Rook said, with tears in her eyes.

"I'm waiting."

"Yes!"

"Yes, what?"

"Yes I will atone!"

"Good girl. I don't believe you but still that's a start." He got up from where he had been kneeling next to her and put his tattoo gun away. "Now normally, I would cut your sin off of you as a symbol of you atoning for your sin...but James doesn't feel that is necesary for you. He feels you should be reminded of your sins. And I happen to agree." He went to the door and opened it. "You can come in now James."

James came into the room from where he had been waiting outside. "How is it going, John?"

"I got her to say Yes. She has agreed to atone. Or she at least says she will. I am not convinced." John said placing a hand on his brother's shoulder, concerned.

James looked at Rook, who was sagging in her binds. "That will have to do for now, John. She looks exhausted."

"Can we speak alone after we are done here, brother?" John said.

"Of course, John."

Rook passed out.

James PoV

After Rook was dragged to her cell, John made sure they were alone before talking.

"I'm concerned about this girl even being here, James. Especially after what you have told us about her being the one to kill us."

"Just give me time John. I will convince her of the truth of things."

"You and Joseph seem so certain she can be redeemed. I am still not convinced. She is still a great threat to us."

James went up and hugged John. "Do not worry brother. I won't let anyone, not even her harm my family. I promise you we will make it through Eden's Gate together."

James decided to stay with his brother at the bunker for awhile, to see that Rook got treated well. He knew his brother wanted her dead. John could easily kill her and claim it was an accident. He could not let that happen.

Honestly, as much as James believed his dreams to be warnings, he wasn't one hundred percent sure about the religous aspects of their group. Oh he played along as much as he could, for his brothers's sakes. But when it came to believing in a higher power, he just wasn't sure. He had a inkling that Jacob maybe thought the same as he did. Neither of them said anything to each other about it though. What mattered was their family.

The dreams haunted him. Every night now. It was getting close now. The tipping point, where his brothers would die or wouldn't. He had tried to be angry at Rook for that but couldn't. But he did want her to prove to him that she wasn't a threat. And if she was to be allowed to stay in their Family, then his brothers would require her to go through certain things first. James didn't like it but he couldn't stop them.

James walked to where the security camera feed showing the inside of the cells was. He stared at the screen that showed Rook passed out on a cot in her cell. She looked pretty exhausted, notjust because of what they had done to her. Running around Hope County had to have taken its toll. He would take a look at her wounds later, so they didn't get infected.

Rook PoV

Rook's sleep was troubled. She had nightmares of the past few days. When she woke up in a small cell, she wasn't entirely sure that she wasn't still in a nightmare. But no. Reality had just become a nightmare. She struggled to sit up on the rather uncomfortable cot. The words that John had cut into her skin hurt still. She looked down at her skin to see them. Wrath was written neatly onto her chest. Pride was written into her arm. She supposed that she was lucky John hadn't cut the skin around the words off. That would've hurt a lot more.

She stared at the door to her cell. It looked pretty solid. It was doubtful she could get it open. Even if she had known how to pick a lock...there was no lock or even a handle on her side of the door. She put her head in her hands. She wasn't getting out of this was she? She had to fight back tears. Damn James and his psychotic family!

Soon Rook was bored more than she was nervous. There was nothing to do in her cell. She paced back and forth in the cell, and stared at the door. At this point she'd almost welcome John coming in to torture her more. Almost.

Suddenly the door to her cell opened and James walked in with a med kit. She is about to launch herself at him in a rage when he pulls out his gun. A peggie walks in behind him with a large gun pointed at her.

"Sorry Rook. I know you are angry at me, but I can't have you causing me any harm." James said aiming his gun at her. "Can you please let me have a look at any wounds you might have? Please? We can't let anything get infected."

She stared at him angrily and then sighed and nodded. James smiled. He puts away his gun and put the med kit on the cot.

"Can you take your shirt off so I can have a look at you?" James asked.

"Like I'm really going to expose myself in front of you and the peggie." Rook said.

"Brian here isnt going to oggle you I promise. And trust me I have no interest in doing anything more than dressing any injuries you might have." James tried to reassure her.

"Fine." she huffed.

Rook unbuttoned her plaid shirt and took it off. Luckily she still wore a bra. James walked around her and noticed the wound on her side where she had been grazed with a bullet. He also took a look at the bliss bullet wound on her back.

"You need to take better care of yourself Rook." James said as he got out some tweezers and started digging out the bliss bullet remains.

"You're the one who shot me!" She hissed as he worked. He finished up with the bullet wound and set the bullet remains. Then he got out an antiseptic wipe and started cleaning her wounds.

"That was necesary. But I'm not the one who gave you all these cuts and bruises though am I? You got those yourself." He cleaned the various cuts on her body. "Good that we don't need to stitch this bullet wound closed. It seems rather shallow."

He finished cleaning her wounds and let her put her shirt back on. "So... Have any cuts on your legs?" She tried to ignore the question.

"You have to tell me Rook."

"No I don't have any injuries on my legs. I'm not taking off my pants, James!" Rook said.

"Ok fine. You know I'm trying to help you right? John wouldn't have thought to clean your wounds." James said, packing away the med kit.

"And I'm really fucking grateful that you are being so 'helpful'." she said sarcastically.

"I'm not your enemy Rook. I know you might think I am but I'm not. I'm trying to save your life. You don't have to be grateful but you do have to understand that. Once you do, we can let you out of here." James said before leaving the room with the peggie named Brian and locking the door behind them.


End file.
